Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Down 0.6% - Here's What Happened

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) shares dropped 0.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $53.80 and last traded at $53.97. Approximately 1,113,901 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 9,833,637 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.29.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.33.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.4 %

The company has a market cap of $90.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.64. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $51.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.70.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.62%. This is an increase from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MO. Norden Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter worth $543,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 83.6% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 4,692 shares of the company's stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 2,136 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 12.6% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 25,811 shares of the company's stock worth $1,126,000 after purchasing an additional 2,896 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 27,218 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 12,108 shares of the company's stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

About Altria Group

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company offers cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; large cigars and pipe tobacco under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; oral nicotine pouches under the on! brand; and e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand.

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